Hi, Lit fans! Our new programming year kicks off this Friday, and we have lots more to talk about. In this issue:
- Hang out with us Friday at Rosie’s Coffee & Wine Garden for an open mic & mingle
- Hear Reginald Dwayne Betts at the final 4X4CLT
- Help the Hindman Settlement after the devastating Kentucky floods
- Browse our 2022-23 class and events catalog
- Find much more!
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Friday! Poetry Reading & Open Mic at Rosie's Coffee & Wine Garden
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THIS Friday, August 19, celebrate summer’s end and help us kick off Charlotte Lit's fall programming.
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Join us and featured guest Jay Ward, Charlotte’s inaugural poet laureate, and members of Charlotte Lit's Poetry Chapbook Lab, for a Charlotte Lit social and poetry open mic. Rosie’s Coffee and Wine Garden, 940 N. Davidson Street, 5:00-7:00 pm. Free and open to all.
Register to receive reminders for the event here. If you'd like to read a poem, arrive early and sign up in person at the door.
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Registration for 2022-23 is Open!
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Our 2022-23 programming year has gotten off to a great start!
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Make sure to take a look at the first two classes of the season before all seats are taken!
Writing the Short Story — Dustin M. Hoffman
Two Tuesdays, September 6 & 13 | 6:30 - 8:30 pm in Studio Two
Reading The Iliad in Wartime — Jeffrey Thomson
Six Tuesdays, Sep. 20, 27, Oct. 4, 11, 18, 25 | 6:00 - 8:00 pm via Zoom
NOTE! We have a new registration system, so please read the instructions on the landing pages!
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Community Conversation: Changing Forms — Patrice Gopo & Sarah Archer
Wednesday, September 14 | 6:00 - 7:30 pm in Studio Two — Free!
Community Conversation: Memoir as Witness — Stephanie Elizondo Griest
Friday, September 23 | 6:00 - 7:30 pm in Studio Two — Free!
Craft Class: Writing the Body — Stephanie Elizondo Griest
Saturday, September 24 | 9:00 am - 1:00 pm in Studio Two
Craft Class: Sex (How to Write About It Well) — Sarah Creech
Thursday, September 29 | 6:30 - 8:30 pm in Studio Two
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Join us for the final 4X4CLT September 9
Reginald Dwayne Betts
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Join us as we celebrate the final installment of 4X4CLT, our six-year poetry+art poster project, created and curated by Lisa Zerkle.
Acclaimed poet, author, lawyer, and reform advocate Reginald Dwayne Betts joins us for an evening reading and book signing with presenting partner Arts at Queens.
Betts is a poet, lawyer, 2021 MacArthur and 2018 Guggenheim Fellow, and founder of Freedom Reads, a nonprofit radically transforming the access to literature in prisons across this country. For more than 20 years, he has used his poetry and essays to explore the world of prison and the effects of violence and incarceration on American society. He is the author of a memoir and three collections of poetry, including the American Book Award-winning Felon. Betts holds a J.D. from Yale Law School.
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Helping the Hindman Settlement School
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THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE DONATED SO FAR, Charlotte Lit surpassed our initial $1,000 goal to help the Hindman Settlement School rebuild after the devastating Kentucky floods. But we're not finished. If you can, please visit our Hindman Settlement School campaign page to donate, and faculty member Nickole Brown will send you a signed copy of her chapbook, To Those Who Were Our First Gods, as a personal thank you. If you prefer, you can donate directly to Hindman, here.
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Charlotte Pride Festival & Parade, August 19-20, Uptown Charlotte
After two years of a pandemic hiatus, Charlotte’s largest street festival and parade returns to Uptown Charlotte! From 2,000 attendees in 2001 to more than 200,000 at their last in-person event in 2019, the Charlotte Pride Festival & Parade makes its grand return to the streets of Uptown Charlotte as they celebrate 20 years of Charlotte Pride and more than 40 years of Pride legacy in the Queen City. Info
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NEW! Charlotte Lit's Community Open Studio
Wednesdays from 11:00 am – 1:00 pm we gather for quiet writing time in Charlotte Lit's Studio Two, Midwood International & Cultural Center. Bring a lunch if you like and plan to get some work done. Free and open to the public. Charlotte Lit, 1817 Central Avenue, Room 208. No need to register in advance, just come on by! Note: Please see our current Covid protocols, here.
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NEW! Authors Lab Info Session Dates
Thinking about applying to Charlotte Lit's Authors Lab for 2023? Come to an info session to learn all about our novel and memoir writing program, now in its seventh year. Register now for one of these dates, all held via Zoom:
Wednesday, September 7, 6 pm
Thursday, September 8, 6 pm
Tuesday, September 13, 11 am
Wednesday, September 14, 2 pm
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Charlotte Lit's Pen to Paper, Tuesdays
Tuesdays from 9:30 – 10:30 am we gather in Charlotte Lit's Zoom room for a writing prompt, community time, and sharing, led by Meg Rich, Kathie Collins, or Paul Reali. Register
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Poetry Reading: Lit Board Member Chris Arvidson
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Sunday, September 11, 2 pm: Charlotte Lit board member Chris Arvidson reads from The House Inside My Head, her new poetry chapbook. In Davidson, outside on the stage behind Summit Coffee. Sponsored by Main Street Books and Charlotte Writers Club North. Info
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Charlotte Readers Podcast
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Charlotte Readers Podcast episode 304, with hosts Landis Wade, Sarah Archer, and Hannah Larrew, features five authors talking about their debut journeys in a variety of genres. The episode also explores indie publishing with USA Today bestselling author Jenifer Ruff and a continent-hopping romantic drama. Plus: extra writing tips and book recommendations throughout, including Charlotte Lit's latest two-minute tip: Paul Reali on how math can help you in your writing, at time stamp 35:45.
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Charlotte Writers Club
Friday, August 26: Open Mic Night at Mugs Coffee. 6:45 pm, 5126 Park Road, Charlotte
Sunday, October 2: 100 Years of Words: A Celebration of Books & Writing, with Therese Anne Fowler. 6:00 pm, Mint Museum Randolph. Part of CWC's 100th anniversary.
Find more info and registration at the CWC website
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More Friends of Lit
NEW! Flatiron Writers Room in Asheville has just released their fall class schedule, much of it offered online. Info
NEW! The Independent Picture House, also known as The Indie, is open! This non-profit community cinema screens diverse, arthouse, and independent films at their beautiful new theatre. Learn more
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Podcasts & Blogs
This week's Storied Charlotte blog by UNC Charlotte English professor Mark West is about Charlotte Lit's October event series, Artists Reckoning with Home, which celebrates the life and work of Charlotte-born artist Romare Bearden. Read the post here, and learn more about our Bearden events here. (Thanks again, Mark, for including Charlotte Lit's work in your blog.)
The very same Mark West wrote about the death of historian David McCullough in the Charlotte Observer last week. He writes: "I like the fact that the word 'story' is embedded in the word 'history.' My favorite historians recognize the importance of telling a good story, and McCullough is at the top of my list of historians who excel at storytelling." Read the whole story here.
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More Lit Arts Events & News
NEW! Charlotte wants resident input as it builds the Charlotte Arts and Culture Plan. According to Axios Charlotte, "The plan will set the framework for how to fund creatives — and how to use the arts for economic development." The first two events:
- August 23: Silver Hammer Studios at AvidXchange, 817 Hamilton Street, 6 to 8 pm. Priya Sircar, Charlotte's arts and culture officer, will be on hand, along with art, music, food, and stations to give feedback and information to take home.
- August 25: Virtual event, 6 to 7:30 pm
Planning runs through spring 2023. More events will follow. Info and event registration
NEW! Charlotte Mecklenburg Library's Final Draught: Join author Lands Wade at Town Brewing Company for a lively discussion about Deadly Declarations, his latest novel, which features an unlikely trio of Charlotte retirees who are trying to solve a man's death — and may in the process change the course of American history. August 23, 6:00 pm. Info
10-Minute Play Festival. Winston-Salem Writers, August 26 and 27, Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts, Mountcastle Forum Theatre, Winston-Salem. Six plays written by NC writers will be performed. Info
NEW! 20th James River Writers Conference. October 7-9, Richmond, VA. Features agent one-on-one meetings and much more. Info
27th Atlanta Writers Conference. Atlanta Writers Club, November 4-5, in-person (with a virtual option), Westin Atlanta Airport Hotel. Among the features: 17 guest acquisitions editors and literary agents in attendance, from boutique literary agencies and small presses to the largest agencies and most well-known publishers. Info
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CHARLOTTE LIT'S MISSION is to celebrate the literary arts by educating and engaging writers and readers through classes, conversations, and community.
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Charlotte Lit is a community, open to all. Through our programming and practices, we consciously reach out to non-majority and under-represented groups and individuals.
— Charlotte Lit's Statement of Inclusivity, adopted by our Board of Directors
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Charlotte Lit is Grateful for the Support of...
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